UNITEDRANT

Poll: Valencia’s replacement

Antonio Valencia is set to miss the entire season after suffering an agonising leg break and ankle dislocation last night. The injury, which was almost as horrific as Manchester United’s unimaginative display against Rangers, required an operation this morning as the Ecuadorian winger begins the long and painful road to recovery.

But what should Sir Alex Ferguson do to replace Valencia in the team?

Ferguson’s likely options include shifting Nani to the right-wing and playing Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-Sung more often than previously thought likely. With Dimitar Berbatov in great form, Ferguson could also choose to shift Wayne Rooney to the left-wing in a 4-3-3 formation.

However, left-field choices could be to bring French winger Gabriel Obertan into the side, promote new signing Bebé or look to an academy side packed with talented, if untested, youngsters.

Finally Ferguson could dip into the transfer market this January, after all the manager still claims to have money available.

IMHO I feel as though there is not enough credit where credit is due. Fergie knows this game better than any of us. I believe he knows what he wants out of the team and they will deliver. Historically we have had slow starts to the season and we all need to get used to it. We always push on toward xmas and into the new year. Fans do not need to fear. Have Chelsea got the legs? Can arsenal finally gel? Liverpool have nothing to worry about. The only criticism that I have is that we missed out on vdv and oezil… Harry will probably be secretly filmed offering him louise redknapps services as he is the wheeler dealer we know him to be. Final words; BELIEVE and a speedy recovery to Tony!!

I have supported United since 1962 and watched them when I was a student at Manchester University 1977-1980 (in 1964 we emigrated to South Africa). I have never seen a United team so deprived of talent and lacking in balance. And I am flabbergasted by what has happened to Ferguson — where the stubborn, cantankerous, and servile (with regard to the Glasers) aspects of his personality have clearly taken over.

Please don’t confuse this Fergie with the manager who brought Cantona, Keane and Kanchelskis to United, who won doubles and the treble, but above all brought in a style of attacking football that re-defined United as an attacking team that could tear you to pieces if they got the chance.

Clearly Fergie, for whatever reason, is not going to buy (no value) and if he does buy he doesn’t buy where we are crying out for guile, speed, strength and power (in midfield).

The Valencia injury should get him to stop and think that perhaps he needs to create OPTIONS based on the players he has, so that United can shift seamlessly from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C and not revert to crude ineffectual kinds of route-one football when things go wrong (compounded by the fat that we do not, unlike the team I remember from the 70s, have a Joe Jordan)

The loss of Valencia means the inclusion of Nani on the right win (where he plays to his true potential) supported by an attacking right full-back (here Ferguson needs to break out of his decrepid negativity based, surely, on a fear of losing and of looking bad in the media) and try out all possibilities on the left, move Rooney into a central midfield role (free him of the anxiety of having to score) and play Berbetov with Macheda and Hernandez alternating as strike partner.

I think this one is sadly a no brainer – we have to promote Obertan and Bébé probably a whole lot earlier than we were expecting. Nani should switch to the right wing. Giggs is better through the middle and should only cameo down the left these days. Park isn’t creative enough, Fletcher is better in the middle, Anderson isn’t a winger, Gibson is dead weight, Cleverley is out on loan. We need Obertan to start showing sparks and talent.

Well, the buy buy buy option is unavailable till January when there will be ‘no value in the market’ and anyone decent will be cup tied for the CL.
Nani is better on the right than the left anyway, so question is who to come in on the left. Park is only just about OK in a defensive role in away games, Bebe by the sound of it needs at least a season to come up to speed, Welbeck and Cleverly are out on loan, Fergie does not trust youth, Obertan must be about the only option.

i wouldn’t mind wazza out wide in a 433 actually. rushing bebe in would be too big a risk right now. you can pin hopes on obertan staying fit and he has shown flashes on the flank, but putting rooney out wide is safer way to go. only problem with that is he would not be in the box as much as last season which means likley fewer goals. he’s not getting in much anyway right now, given where his head is at. SAF can fix this vamoss you red devils!

uncleknobheadforfucksake said:
these are games welbeck or cleverly should be getting, how good would they’ve been after a year of regular games with us in a position we all know fergies gonna give to park now

I can’t see Sir Alex going with anyone other than Park – he should do anything but use Park, but I don’t see it happening. Park playing in front of an Evra seemingly still f*cked up mentally by the France Fiasco sounds like a lot of fun. No offensive thrust for United down the left side, then.

Unregistered User said:
All those who doubt Park are idiots. He will be fine. Obviously not as strong an all around game as Valencia (who will be sorely missed, he is much stronger with def. responsibilities then Nani).

Obertan/Park will have to spell Giggs, who will probably start more on the left.I wish Cleverley was here, I would rather see him if we were sticking to 4-4-2. Obertan should be up front if its 4-4-3

We don’t doubt Park, ya tool.

“Doubt” would suggest that we had faith in him once, but now “doubt” him.

It’s as clear as day Ginsoak does not want to admit we can’t afford any decent players these days, utter shit, our squad is now level with the bin dippers and that is depressing as fuck!! Ginsoak hasn’t kept up with adding talent to our squad over the last two years, to lose Ronaldo was the start of our slide, I fear for the long term, with Chelsea, Man City’s wealth, Arsenal and maybe a new owner for the dippers we’re going to be left behind.